The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1887-02-09
READING.

reading consists In getting the thought
from the thing read. In silent reading the
attention is directed principally to the
meaning of the words in their arrange
ment, and their arrangement, in the SON
tence. Oral reading consists net only I'm
getting the thought, but also in express
ing tho thought IN oral language. 1t in
wolves all implied in oral reading, and
more. The mecaing of tho words az fac
tors of sentence must be understood.
And the words must be pronounced. In
order to read well, the attention must be
directed principally to the thought, and to
its expression. Words must be pro-
nounced. it is true, but there is a wide diff
ference between reading, and word-pro-
nouncing. The mind through the eye
must take notice of the words as individ-
uals, and the voice must pronounce
them individually hut the mind notices
the words only for the purpose of getting
the ideas they represent, and the voice
speaks them only for the purpose of ex-
pressing these same ideas. But the eye
notices, also, the manner in which the
words are arranged, or linked together,
and the voice expresses this arrangement
by means of pauses, infections, emphasis,
pitch, force, rate, etc., and the thousand
and one peculiar intonations of which the
voice is capable. Most people talk well,
so far as making themselves understood
is concerned. They concern themselves
with what they wish to say, and use the
words only with which they are familiar,
and use the arrangement that comes read
lily and easily; and there is no hesitancy
at words that are mispronounced. The
attention is directed to the thought almost
entirely. Words and expression are only
means of conveying the thought. The
thought generally furnishes its own ex-
preston Reading is more formal than
speaking. Usually it is the thought of
of another the words of another, and ar
ranged in an order somewhat, probably
very much, different from the readers
way of thinking, or putting the thought.
In speaking, the words used are much
helped by various gestures and express
ions of voice and hands and face and body.
In fact, these are depended on as helps.
When the thought is put in written words
all these devices are absent, ana much
more depends on the words themselves.
represented bya word is most correctly
given by the most correct pronunciation
of the word, that great accuracy must be
observed in pronouncing the words used.
Let the fifth reading class in any school
be called. The object sought with this
order to read the lesson well now before
them, 1t is necessary that the class be al
most wholly occupied with the thought in
that lesson. The words of the lesson are
80 many vehicles on which the thought
comes laden. We use the words simply
to get and give the thought. So far as
getting the thought is concerned it is not
necessary to be able to pronounce the
word; but it is necessary to know the
meaning of the word. The thought is the
principal thing. We must become famil-
lar with the thought; So familiar that we
can anticipate what follows, or is asso-
ciated with the thought now being ex-
BI6SSeOs anu we must also become Ia
miliar with the way in which the thought
is presented; the standpoint from which
the subject is viewed; the order in which
it is developed. A half dozen persons
thinking the same thought would express
it in as many ways. We must learn to
think as our author thinks, before we can
be so familiar with the thought as to tell
it as he tells it. We must become so IA
miliar with the pronunciation of the words
that the attention is not directed away
from the idea or thought, to struggle with
pronunciation OF the word. For a pupil
to stop in the middle of a sentence to
wrestle with the pronunciation Of word
is for him to lose the line .of thought and
his interest, and to spoil his work. In
fact, anything that disturbs and distracts
his attention from the line of thought he
is following, is an injury, whether it be
word he cannot pronounce or an interrup
ton by the teacher.
j. e. HILLARD, Co. Supt.
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